Chapter 1368

“Does anyone know a way to keep those two students from getting hurt?”

The Einroguard students tilted their heads when they heard Lee Han.

It was not a ‘Is there a way?’ kind of tilt, but a ‘Why would we need to?’ kind.

“Why?”

“...I asked if there was a way. Why are you asking me why?”

“Isn’t getting hurt a little part of learning magic?”

“That’s right, Wardanaz. Look at those Valdrogard students.”

His friends remained unyielding.

As anyone could tell just by looking at the state of the Valdrogard students right now, magic required trials and hardship.

Mages who had entered Einroguard wanted every mage in the world to undergo trials similar to their own.

“Of course, I admit that I’m keeping the Valdrogard students confined while teaching them. But that doesn’t mean I particularly want to give them the shock of learning that a mage in the same year as them has been appointed as a professor—”

Thud!

At the sound of someone collapsing, Lee Han and his friends turned their heads.

Ingsen and Basiu, who had just entered through the lecture hall entrance, had fainted and fallen to the floor. They had passed out after seeing the newly appointed professor and his companions.

“......”

“......”

While the Einroguard students were left speechless, the Valdrogard students already inside the lecture hall began talking.

“Why do all the new guys who come in lately keep dropping like flies? We never did that.”

“Tsk, tsk. Back in my day, something like that would’ve been unimaginable.”

***

While the collapsed Valdrogard students lay down and rested, Lee Han decided to take action first.

He used an artifact to contact Professor Garcia, then summoned a Death Knight and questioned it separately.

“What weaknesses does this duplicate of the Principal have?”

-It is truly difficult, Successor. Truly difficult.

-......

The hamster sitting blankly on top of the desk kept looking around.

Seeing that, Lee Han spoke irritably.

“No, in a serious situation like this, when we have to deal with a duplicate of the Principal, what exactly are you doing? Are you protesting because you want a snack?”

The hamster, once a great magical criminal, filled its black, adorable eyes with blazing fury at those words.

-It has been so long since I was let out that I was trying to figure out what was going on! Where the hell is this place?

Among Lee Han’s various close associates, Saratan and the hamster were still suffering because of the absurd accusation Lee Han had made recently.

That accusation was none other than the crime of failing to stop the young prince in the painting from sacrificing himself.

Both the spirit and the magical criminal had joined forces in resisting this accusation, but this young tyrant was every bit as vicious as his teacher and refused to allow any excuses.

As a result, Saratan and the hamster had each received the following punishments.

In Saratan’s case...

-The Valdrogard vegetable garden is quite fertile. I suppose there’s no need for you to use your Authority of Life.

-What are you talking about! If I use my Authority, the plants will grow on a completely different level. Your Authority of Mana may be impressive, but my Authority as a spirit is not something you can dismiss either!

-Oh. Really? Then why couldn’t you stop my teacher from disappearing?

-......

The terrifying thing about this punishment was that no matter what Saratan said, the result was about the same.

-The Valdrogard vegetable garden is quite barren. You may need to use your Authority of Life.

-I understand. I will do my best.

-Oh. Really? Then why didn’t you do your best when my teacher disappeared?

-......

Saratan sincerely regretted beating and robbing others in the spirit realm.

So this was true punishment!

With no other choice, Saratan chose silence.

Of course, choosing silence did not mean it would be released.

-The weather is nice.

-......

-You’re ignoring me? Well, I suppose you also just stood there doing nothing when my teacher disappeared.

-...Hey! Aren’t you seriously going too far?!

Compared to that, the hamster’s punishment had been much lighter.

All it had to do was spend its time nibbling on seeds inside its cage in the spatial basement.

From the hamster’s perspective, there could hardly be a more tedious and boring punishment, but to Saratan, that sounded like the complaints of someone whose stomach was far too full.

‘That magical criminal bastard should’ve been turned into a bracelet or something and carried around too!’

The hornbeam spirit glared resentfully at the hamster.

Sensing that subtle spiritual presence, the hamster wrinkled its plump cheeks.

‘That stupid, violent spirit doesn’t even know its place and is holding a grudge against me.’

“This is Valdrogard.”

-...D-Did the Einroguard mages finally conquer Valdrogard!?

The hamster shouted in shock.

For a long time, there had been magical criminals who seriously discussed the question, ‘Why hasn’t Einroguard conquered Valdrogard?’

Considering their belligerence and violence, it was an entirely plausible possibility.

Of course, the hamster knew something about the Emperor’s true identity and the relationship with the Magic Spirit Hall, so it had thought the possibility was extremely low, but...

‘A group of Einroguard graduates attacking and taking it over is perfectly possible. Those bastards are more than capable of that.’

In the hamster’s eyes, there was not much difference between Einroguard graduates and magical criminals. Even Gonadaltes probably would not be able to tell them apart if they were mixed together.

-......

“...No.”

The Death Knight and Lee Han exchanged very complicated, subtle looks before answering.

-What do you mean, no? Then why are you in Valdrogard?

“I was appointed as a professor...”

-Who was? You? Why? Are they insane!? Don’t tell me that great mage sold you off?!

The hamster was even more shocked than it had been at the idea of Einroguard students conquering Valdrogard.

‘Has that insane great mage finally gone completely insane???’

It was easy for mages to lose their minds after living for a long time, but the Skull Principal had always been an exception.

The thought that the living mystery who had endured since ancient times had finally gone mad made the hamster’s heart drop. Even it could not tell whether it felt delighted or disappointed.

“Mm. Not exactly. I... was deceived.”

-By whom? An archdemon?!

The experienced magical criminal was so shocked that it threw out an absurd guess.

There was no archdemon who would go to the trouble of deceiving someone just to make them teach at Valdrogard.

“...I was deceived by one of the Principal’s duplicates. The duplicate of greed for wealth.”

-......

The hamster stopped squeaking for a moment and closed its mouth to organize the situation.

Then it had to clench its teeth tightly. Honestly, it was difficult to deny that the situation was funny.

To think he had been stabbed in the back by a duplicate of the teacher he trusted and followed so much!

“Wait... Are you seriously trying not to laugh right now?”

-That rat bastard! I knew it! That bastard should be turned into something like a bracelet and carried around too!

-Absolutely not. I was considering this very seriously. Since a new duplicate of the Lord of Magic Spirits has appeared on the continent, all sorts of upheaval will occur and many people will suffer.

Afraid that its true thoughts would be discovered, the hamster hurriedly spoke. Lee Han stared at it suspiciously.

-So you were giving lectures here?

“Yes.”

-The Valdrogard idiots wouldn’t attend them, though?

Having spent many years as a magical criminal, the hamster knew quite a lot about Valdrogard as well.

Very occasionally, against odds comparable to the sky collapsing and the earth overturning, it would meet a magical criminal who had graduated from Valdrogard, and such people were usually filled with contempt for their old school.

They would say things like only idiots gathered there, or anyone who knew how to do magic dropped out partway through...

“I persuaded them diligently.”

‘Can that really be done through persuasion?’

The hamster found it strange, but let it go for now. That was not what mattered at the moment.

“More importantly, is the duplicate of greed for wealth really that dangerous? Dangerous enough for all kinds of upheaval to occur and many people to suffer?”

Lee Han asked while looking at the Death Knight.

-Not to that extent. Certain people do suffer, but...

“What kind of people?”

-Wealthy people.

“Ah.”

Lee Han immediately understood. Considering the nature of the duplicate of greed for wealth, the wealthier the place, the greater the damage would be.

The hamster chimed in from the side.

-In a way, you could say it’s even more dangerous.

“Come on. Aren’t you exaggerating a little?”

-You were just victimized by it, weren’t you?

“......”

Lee Han threw a grape that had been sitting nearby. The hamster let out an enraged squeak.

“More importantly, why does this duplicate of greed for wealth behave in such a sleazy and frivolous way? The other duplicates were all dignified and worthy of respect.”

‘Were they?’

‘They were?’

The Death Knight and the hamster both questioned that internally.

Even the duplicate of desire for honor, for one, had been nowhere near dignified or worthy of respect.

‘Didn’t it beat the Successor senseless and kidnap him when they first met?’

‘I seem to remember it going berserk like a madman whenever the slightest thing annoyed it.’

The hamster in particular had vivid memories, since it had faced the duplicate of desire for honor together with Lee Han.

Had his memory been distorted?

-Aren’t you mistaken about something? Even the duplicate of desire for honor was violent and arrogant and refused to tolerate any disagreement—

“Shut up. What would you know?”

Lee Han threw a grape and shut the hamster’s mouth.

As expected of a magical criminal, it had no hesitation whatsoever about slandering a great and virtuous mage.

No wonder it had done nothing and just stood there when the young prince disappeared!

‘This bastard...!’

The hamster seethed, but there was nothing it could do. Its opponent was a tyrant in every sense of the word.

The Death Knight watched Lee Han’s mood before speaking.

-In truth, Master’s duplicates tend to have certain aspects Master once possessed greatly amplified. I only heard this from another knight, but I was told that in life, there was also a period when Master was extremely sociable.

“The Principal was?!”

-That record wasn’t forged?!

Not only Lee Han, but even the hamster was shocked.

Long ago, they had seen records from ancient times saying that the young Gonadaltes had lived an indulgent life and was greatly beloved by those who attended banquets with him, and they had naturally assumed the records were fabricated.

-I thought he had trained in magic from childhood while drinking demon blood...

After throwing another grape at the hamster for muttering nonsense, Lee Han asked again.

“Then are you saying that the way he’s going around scamming people now is... one of his old habits?”

-It would seem so.

“......”

The idea that the Skull Principal had once gone through a period like that was somewhat absurd, but Lee Han had still obtained useful information.

“If he’s that well known, shouldn’t he have some weaknesses too?”

-It is difficult.

“?!”

-This duplicate of greed for wealth... is extremely good at running away.

The Death Knight let out a deep sigh.

In truth, although the Skull Principal disliked all of his various duplicates, if one had to choose the duplicate he most wanted to capture, it would be this duplicate of greed for wealth.

If he could capture this duplicate and shake it down for everything it had, Einroguard would not need to bow and scrape while begging for operating funds for several decades. Then he could go around spitting in the faces of Imperial nobles without caring.

But this duplicate was extraordinarily good at escaping. Unlike the other duplicates, it had no pride whatsoever, which made it especially troublesome.

-If it realizes Master is coming, it will run immediately, without exception. This duplicate is particularly wary of Master.

“Is there no way?”

-There is only one method I can think of, Successor.

At the Death Knight’s words, Lee Han’s expression hardened.

“Even if I’ve entered the realm of a microcosm, fighting one of the Principal’s duplicates head-on is still...”

-We should call several professors... Pardon? What did you say?

“Nothing. Haha. I was thinking the same thing.”